Nest box design and placement

[McChooky]

I would do nests like yours if I could have any coop. I like it very much and have similar numbers and goals. Thank you

I would have replied to your pictures if was better at navigating the forum. Or this reply might be a mess if my attempts are part of the post.

I think fake eggs can help but are only really needed if the nest doesn't trigger significantly more instincts telling her it is a good nesting spot than the other spots available. Which might be variable - a hen with a very weak nesting instinct might go with anything close not bothering to find the best. And one with a very strong nesting instinct might try a new site even if one is clearly better.

Thank you! My hens scream bloody murder when they lay and the dogs bark.

It gives the impression that's it's a 'safe' place to lay.


Maybe it's because not enough of the rest of the coop is shown,
but they/it looks to be on floor level.

Thanks! Its full of bedding.

It gives the impression that's it's a 'safe' place to lay.


Maybe it's because not enough of the rest of the coop is shown,
but they/it looks to be on floor level.

....left side of the coop is lower than the rest.These are the nest boxes ...

 

[McChooky]

It gives the impression that's it's a 'safe' place to lay.


Maybe it's because not enough of the rest of the coop is shown,
but they/it looks to be on floor level.

The top of the nest boxes are under the floor of the coop and it has legs that support it. Like I said Im no carpenter so I was barely able to make this work.Lol

 

[saysfaa]

The platform in foreground of the picture is the nest. It was going to hold the crates as nests up but we are going with plan B.

Because, the first egg arrived at 1:00 this afternoon. I was caulking the outside the coop when I heard the commotion. Coco the australorp laid it. They never did go into the crates (under the platform until today) long enough to dig in the litter. They concentrated the digging above the crates. So, I'm going to see how the open topped nest goes.

I was surprised she laid before either of the leghorns. I give 70/30 odds that Spice won't be okay with the community nest but won't be surprised if the rest like it. I'll keep thinking about two nests just in case.

 

[McChooky]

The platform in foreground of the picture is the nest. It was going to hold the crates as nests up but we are going with plan B.

Because, the first egg arrived at 1:00 this afternoon. I was caulking the outside the coop when I heard the commotion. Coco the australorp laid it. They never did go into the crates (under the platform until today) long enough to dig in the litter. They concentrated the digging above the crates. So, I'm going to see how the open topped nest goes.

I was surprised she laid before either of the leghorns. I give 70/30 odds that Spice won't be okay with the community nest but won't be surprised if the rest like it. I'll keep thinking about two nests just in case.

My Dominiques use the large nest I made but "somebody" is laying on the ground in the run a couple days a week. I suspect it may be my barred rock ! She's fussy! I'm hoping if I make another nest just for her she'll stop disturbing the other hens laying in the big nest.

 

[CKfarm22]

I'm having trouble deciding nest box design and placement. I want to use crates for nostalgia reasons. They are each 14"x 16"x 12".

I have 5 pullets who are all 18 weeks old. Three are australorps and two are brown leghorns. So, I think I need two nest boxes and that the crates can go any direction (on their sides, or ends, or backs) as far as dimensions go.

The darkest corner and by far the corner most convenient for gathering the eggs is complicated by having the roost and poop board butting into it - but with a twelve inch gap between the frame and legs of the poop board and the wire wall diving the coop side from the storage side of the shed.

I want raised nests so I don't have to bend down to collect the eggs and so they can have a floor space.

I prefer to put the crates right side up so I don't have to build a frame to hold the bedding in. And so I don't have to take slats off to gather the eggs without going into the chicken side.

I have room - if the hens will go over the poop board to get to the nests. They spend a lot of time on the poop board, if that makes a difference.

Do you think they will?

The picture is not the end result - instead, both crates would be open side up, end to end with their bottoms about even with the cross bar you can see on the wall behind them. Their tops would be about even with the bottom of the frame around the poop board. They would rest of a piece of plywood supported by legs and maybe the wall framing.

Could you possibly attach these crates to the wall with some screws?

 

[saysfaa]

Could you possibly attach these crates to the wall with some screws?

Not as they are. They are quite old and some slats are mostly powder inside the shell of wood. I tried to take the crates apart to use the best slats of one to replace the worst slats of another. It didn't work very well.

Coco is still the only one laying; she seems to like it as is. She has laid 10 eggs in 12 days. She skips Tuesdays, lol.

Live is really crazy right now but in a couple of weeks, I should be able to think about it again if the others don't do as well as she is doing with the way it is.

 

[CKfarm22]

Not as they are. They are quite old and some slats are mostly powder inside the shell of wood. I tried to take the crates apart to use the best slats of one to replace the worst slats of another. It didn't work very well.

Coco is still the only one laying; she seems to like it as is. She has laid 10 eggs in 12 days. She skips Tuesdays, lol.

Live is really crazy right now but in a couple of weeks, I should be able to think about it again if the others don't do as well as she is doing with the way it is.

Do these crates have slots in the bottom? Because you could possibly screw two screws into the wall and then put the crate on them so the screws go into the slots and the wood rests on the screws

 

[saysfaa]

Spice seems ok with the nest as it is too, thankfully, so thinking about the nests can wait. Her first egg was right beside Coco's today. Here are Coco's from all of this week and Spices's first egg.